Last night the Capt spotted a couple of
coatimundis racing through the parking lot, and my first reaction was a resolution not to let the dogs out at night without a chaperone anymore. I've seen skunks here a few times at night, but these coatis are, from what I've heard, more of a danger to small dogs that attempt to chase them. They're members of the raccoon family and inherited that fierce sense of self-protection that could lead them to attack our girls, who have had almost no exposure to wildlife and would probably mistake one for a cat.
I've never had a close encounter with a coati, only running away at a distance, but I looked them up this morning and learned that they can be adopted as pets, though they're likely to tear up a home if left to their own devices. Very hyper and vocal, according to one web page,
http://6thgradeanimalresearch.pbworks.com/Coatimundi
6 comments:
never have seen one around here - small chance of their survival as the people kill and eat anything that moves.(Another reason to not let your dogs and cats out at night) ;-)
They are VERY much like raccoons, in fact they will hang out together. We had a misguided expat in Akumal who was feeding them. They seem to reproduce based on food supply. What had been a few Coatis and some raccoons became a huge mixed pack of 40 or 50. The only thing keeping the population in check were the crocs in the mangroves. They attacked cats and small dogs and even small people. With the people they were just looking for food but the kids were hurt. After much acrimonious discussion with the expat, she moved back to the US. Now, the problem is that the population is so large. They are impossible to keep off the turtle nests, they are in the garbage, in houses that aren't well secured. There is not much that can be done. The Coatis are protected and no one will trap and release them elsewhere. Sorry for the long comment, they are a PITA and you are very right to protect your small dogs. Cute though.
Whoa...I've never heard of that animal. And I'd also be cautious about letting your girls out!
My Uncle had one that adopted him when he worked out on an oil lease in the Sandhills of West Texas. The Coati always showed up at lunch time.
Calypso - They probably taste like coon, right? Or chicken?
Jonna - Good grief, it really IS a jungle out there, where you live. Amazing how one person can mess up an environment like that. What's a PITA (besides a sandwich?)
Cynthia - They never go very far at night, anyway, just outside the door and back. I think they know most everything out there is bigger and meaner than they are.
jomamma - I've read that they can be very social, especially when there's food around.
I had a friend in El Paso that had a coati as a pet, and I remember the claws on her animal were deadly-looking, and they have quite a set of canine teeth as well. My opinion is a coati as a pet is a misguided idea.
* * *
At first I thought they were raccoons because I could only see silhouettes in the dark. But the long snouts and long skinny tails ruled out coons. Quite a surprise.
Post a Comment